It was the battle of the Tennesseans in the State of Worrell v. Ned Stark, but in the end, Zach McCamey (JD ’18) was the winner of the 2015 1L Trial Bar Competition, sponsored by the Wake Forest Student Trial Bar.

Forsyth County District Court Judge Denise S. Hartsfield (JD ’91) presided over the final arguments on Thursday, Oct. 1, between McCamey, who is from Greenville, and Mike Stephens (JD ’18), who is from Chattanooga. Judge Hartsfield praised the competitors for their deference to the court, their knowledge of the case and their oral advocacy skills.

“You all were very, very good,” Judge Hartsfield told the competitors. “I understand why you made it to this point. In just a few years we are going to see some great trial lawyers.”

This year’s problem was based on the popular HBO series, “Game of Thrones.” In the problem, the criminal trial is being brought against Ned Stark for the murder of Jon Snow, after Mr. Stark found out that Mr. Snow was in an intimate relationship with his 17-year-old daughter, Sansa. Mr. Stark is pleading insanity.

Stephens argued on behalf of the State of Worrell, while McCamey argued on behalf of the defendant, Ned Stark.

Judge Hartsfield added, “I wasn’t looking at this like it was a real case because it is pretty preposterous. Instead I was looking at this for style and ultimately both of you all are winners. But in the end, I think the defense style was excellent. I saw the politician in you, Zach, I can see you on CNN one day during the debates.”

Nearly 60 first-year law students signed up for this year’s competition. Final Four contestants included Mitchell Davis and Anna Bryce Flowe and the final eight included Mickey Herman, Mark Huffman, Kevin Rice and Nathan Young.

The 2015 1L Trial Bar Competition Co-Chairs are Daniel Stratton (JD ’17), Michael Petrov (JD ’17) and Ryan Bowersox (JD ’17). Carson Smith (’16) also helped with the competition. The trio edited down this year’s problem from an original National Trial Team problem, according to Stratton. “We congratulate the winners and thank each of the participants,” he said.